Affirm Raises $ 500 Million, Adds Bi-Weekly Plan
To affirm, a San Francisco-based point-of-sale (POS) lender, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), on Thursday (September 17th) announced a $ 500 million Series G financing in a Press release, bringing its total funding raised to more than $ 1.3 billion.
Private FinTech was founded in 2012 as a provider of installment loans that allow buyers to finance a purchase. Affirm said in the statement that it offers more than 5.6 million US and Canadian consumers an alternative to traditional credit cards.
“We are excited about this vote of confidence from new and existing investors as we continue our mission to create honest financial products that improve lives,” said the CEO and Founder of Affirm. Max Levchin in the output.
The company did not specify how it plans to use the money.
The funding initiative was led by Return Investor GIC, a private equity fund established by the Singapore government, and Durable Capital Partners, a Maryland investment firm, the statement said. Other returning investors included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Wellington Management Co., Baillie Gifford, Spark Capital, Founders Fund and Fidelity Management & Research Co.
At the same time, the company introduced an interest-free bi-weekly payment product for transactions as low as $ 50. Consumers do not pay late fees or hidden charges when using the product, Affirm said in the release.
In July, Affirm was preparing for a initial public offering (IPO).
Also that month, Affirm announced that he would work with Shopify offer a BNPL payment option to their customers.
The companies have said that Shopify’s product, which has entered a testing phase, will be called Buy installment payments. Shopify offers a subscription software service that provides an e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point of sale systems.
“It’s critical that businesses make it easy for their customers to shop from them,” Shopify’s said. Kaz Nejatian, vice president and general manager, in a press release at the time. “Shop Pay Installment Payments helps our merchants provide their customers with more choice and payment flexibility, while providing a seamless payment experience to increase conversion and overall sales. “
